I plan to leave my mark on the baseball world; this is where it all begins.

Tampering with the “faith of fifty million people”

Upon writing my previous entry, I had no idea that the very next morning, a ‘Special Report’ would be on MLB Network about Alex Rodriguez and steroids. I turned MLB Network on to watch Billy Cone of the Mets strike out 19 Phillies in an All Time Game. Little did I know that I would be in for a shock.

A-Rod tested positive in 2003 for using steroids, but he was only one of 103 other players who also tested positive. Of course A-Rod is the only one who gets scrutinized. I could barely respect A-Rod before I found out about this scandal, I didn’t like the way he played the game. He would do unethical things like knocking the ball out of Bronson Arroyo’s glove and yell something to make the Blue Jays’ third baseman confused and drop a routine fly ball. That is unethical and disrespectful but steroids goes much, much beyond that. Not only did he do steroids, but he lied about it.

Can you imagine what people like Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb would be saying about this? I was just watching Ken Burns’ First Inning ‘Our Game’ today for my research paper and people were freaking out when pitchers would throw curve balls, people freaked out because of the notorious spit ball. This ongoing scandal with steroids needs to stop– it is the biggest scandal since the Black Sox Scandal the way I see it.

Similar to what Julia said in her letter to Bud Selig, if I did drugs in school, I would be kicked out immediately. In fact, kids were asked to leave earlier in the year because of a drug incident. In baseball, they only receive a minor suspension which pales in comparison to the expulsion that Jackson faced, that Pete Rose faces, and that I would face.

Baseball is special, it is more special to us than anything probably is, or ever will be, but that does not mean that the people who play baseball are allowed to get special treatment. I know what they mean to the game, what they mean to us, but do we really want to degrade the game and ourselves to watching artificial people play the game? That’s not real– that’s not the baseball that I want to watch. I want to watch real baseball. I want to watch people who have not taken drugs to enhance their ability. I know that they want to be the best, and that the pressure is hard sometimes, but so is high school. Couldn’t I cheat on a test to get better grades? Is that any different? I would be giving myself an unfair advantage, I would be cheating myself. I would not be deserving the straight A’s that I would be getting. Baseball players are measured against other baseball players but when I’m applying for college, aren’t I going to be compared against other students?

People have told me that I can’t just ignore the numbers. I can’t ignore the fact that Barry Bonds has surpassed Hank Aaron’s record, I can’t ignore the fact that Roger Clemens holds the records for strikeouts in a game? Aren’t we ignoring the fact that Pete Rose has over 4,000 hits? There is only one other player who has over 4,000 hits and that is Ty Cobb.

For those of you who have steadily kept up with this blog or for those who are first time visitors, you can tell from the title that I plan on having a job with Major League Baseball. I hope that one day I will be voting on players getting into the Hall of Fame. By then I hope that people who are guilty of doing steroids are ineligible for admittance. If they are eligible then they will not be receiving my vote.

This is a terrible day for baseball. The integrity of our beautiful sport has been tainted. When a scandal like this happens, it calls for reform. I’m not saying reform the game itself because the game is beautiful. I’m saying reform what’s going on behind the game. This is a bold statement but, anyone who has ever done steroids should be ineligible for the Hall of Fame ballots, regardless if it was in 2003 or 2007. They found out about the Black Sox Scandal two years later and they still enforced punishment. Pete Rose gambled after he was a player and he is still banished. No one is going to take this seriously unless some serious consequences are enforced.

The sad part is that this time, it’s not gamblers who are tampering with the “faith of fifty million people”, it’s the players.

I’m sorry baseball fans,

-Elizabeth

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24 Comments

They can’t really put anyone from this era into the HOF. You don’t know who did it and who didn’t…and you shouldn’t put cheaters in the Hall. Put in Shoeless Joe (he couldn’t read and played his heart out!) and Pete Rose (he didn’t bet when he was a player, did he?)http://imbringingdiamondback.mlblogs.com

I’m afraid it won’t be resolved soon, sadly. It’s only the beginning. First A-Rod will have to come forward and make some sort of statement. Then the media will be after the other 103 players who failed the test. Then we’ll be subjected to infighting between MLB and the players’ union. I just want baseball. Waaaa.

It’s bad enough that so many players, good or not so good, have felt the need to cheat by using performance enhancing drugs. But what really bugs me is how they won’t ‘fess up to it when confronted with the evidence, but just deny everything out the wazoo. They are setting the worst kind of example for the youngest fans/future players, by not only cheating but then lying about it!
SueRants, Raves, and Random Thoughts

I was disappointed when I heard about A-Rod using steroids. It’s sad too. I can’t believe great players like him would do something terrible like this. He should be ashamed of himself. I watch players play by their skills, not by using drugs.http://hyunoyung.mlblogs.com

I became a baseball fan because I love the history and tradition of the game, but it is hard not to feel cheated and betrayed by certain major league players. Every time A-Rod denied steroid allegations, I always wanted to believe him. He didn’t have the massive physique changes like Bonds or Giambi, and it always appeared that he excelled the natural way. I definitely agree…a terrible day for baseball.

How weird is it that your last post, before the A-Rod news, was about baseball scandals? I think you are becoming psychic! :O) SO awesome. Hee!
Great article…I think we are all just disgusted by all this.

As much as I don’t like Alex Rodriguez, I think part of me was crushed when I found out he tested positive for steroids. It seems as though these days there are fewer and fewer heroes for people to look up to. Although Mark McGwire only got like… 22% of the votes this past season for the HOF, it still disappoints me to even see him on the ballot. Unfortunately, I feel like that’s what’s going to happen with Barry Bonds and Rodriguez.
Emilyhttp://deconstructingthoughts.mlblogs.com/

I am terrified to know who the other 103 are. I’m afraid that people I adore and respect might be on there. I’m afraid that there might be former and current White Sox on there (although when they announced the random test that year, 16 members of the White Sox refused to take the test to skew the results before someone convinced them otherwise). I’m afraid people I don’t really have an opinion about are on there. I’m afraid this will destroy the game I love so much. Football was my first love, but baseball is my greatest love. If this destroys it, I don’t know what I’ll do. (And since you mentioned him, Shoeless Joe for HOF!)
Jenhttp://ajroxmywhitesox.mlblogs.com

Emily: I think part of me was crushed as well even though I never liked him. Much as I hate to admit it he was so good! But now that’s all because of steroids? We can’t let those guys in to the Hall with other guys who did it on hot dogs and beer.

Jen: This will not destroy baseball, no matter what happens. Baseball has lived on through the Black Sox Scandal, and baseball has lived on through the drug scandal of the late 80’s. It has been around since the antebellum period and nothing with that much longevity will be erased.

This is so terrible. Definitely a bad day in baseball. It is so sad that this has to happen. I completely agree with your post. It is just terrible. Terrible for baseball. Man.http://kaybee.mlblogs.com

Unfortunately, I’m pretty sure Babe Ruth would be juicing if it were around during his time. If he saw another player stealing his thunder, he’d do what he had to do and I find that very, very sad. Yes, I’m speculating, but this is based on what has happened in the last fifteen years or so.
–Jeffhttp://redstatebluestate.mlblogs.com/

Gotta say that I agree with your point on not letting the McGwires, Palmerios and Bonds’ into the Hall.

Remember Shoeless Joe had impressive numbers during the 1909 World Series. He didn’t take the fall like his teammates did. But baseball banned him and felt he was just as guilty as his teammates. Why should this be any different?

Well said, Elizabeth. Even though things look bleak right now, I do think things will get better. We might not know about past players, but we can be relatively certain that current players are clean. It’s not just because of the testing, it’s that the whole culture has changed. There’s more emphasis on defense and doing the little things to win games, not just putting up power numbers. That’s why guys like Manny and Bobby Abreu are still looking for work.
-Erinhttp://plunking-gomez.mlblogs.com

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